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Commissioners approve rezoning and conditional-use permit for convenience store with fuel at 13 S. Highway 212
Summary
The Board approved rezoning and a conditional use permit for a 5.12-acre parcel at 13 S. Highway 212 to allow a 4,500 sq ft convenience store with fuel pumps and three adjacent retail spaces; conditions include driveway changes per GDOT, restricted uses and stormwater and landscape approvals.
The Newton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously March 18 to rezone a 5.12-acre parcel at 13 S. Highway 212 to highway commercial (REZ 24000007) and to grant a companion conditional use permit (CUP 24000009) to allow a convenience store with fuel pumps.
Planning staff said the parcel currently carries dual zoning (general commercial and agricultural-residential) and that the comprehensive plan’s future land-use map supports highway commercial given the parcel’s location near the intersection of Highway 212 and Highway 36 and surrounding commercial uses. The applicant, NGC Holdings LLC (representative: Amy Laws), proposed a development anchored by a 4,500-square-foot convenience store, three 1,600-square-foot retail spaces, 56 parking spaces and five fuel pumps.
Staff and GDOT recommended eliminating an existing residential driveway and using a single commercial access; GDOT provided preliminary comments recommending a 24-foot driveway width, mountable aprons and right-turn/left-turn lane considerations and said it would provide more detailed review as the project advances. The board approved a motion requiring that any additional structures placed on the rear portion of the property must return to the Board for approval.
Conditions imposed by the board and staff include: prior to new uses obtain required permits; obtain and maintain a business license; carry retail activities inside the building only (an exterior ice machine permitted on the front walk); no outside storage or exterior merchandising; hours of operation limited to 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.; prohibiting tattoo parlors, vape shops and massage parlors on the site; and requiring stormwater and landscape plans approved by Newton County staff, resolving runoff concerns, and compliance with signage and fencing ordinances. The two existing homes on the parcel will be demolished as part of development.
The board’s approvals follow prior planning commission endorsements and public hearings at which neighbors raised questions about future development density and access. Commissioners emphasized that final site details, traffic plans and permitting will be reviewed at the land-disturbance and permitting stages.
